UConn Republicans Invite Ex-Breitbart Editor To Campus

Controversial conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire and former editor-at-large of Breitbart News, addresses the student group Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Utah in September.

Leah Hogsten
/ The Salt Lake City Tribune via AP

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The University of Connecticut says after an incident between an alt-right speaker and a protester last year, it’s using a new review process to decide whether another conservative can speak on campus.

A student group called UConn Republicans has invited Ben Shapiro, a conservative commentator and former editor of the website, Breitbart News.

The same group invited Lucian Wintrich to campus last year. There, Wintrich grabbed a protester who took his speech called “It’s Okay to be White.” Charges were dropped against Wintrich. The protester still faces charges of larceny and disorderly conduct.

A spokesperson for UConn says the university has to plan for the appropriate space and security. That’s to protect the speaker’s free speech and safety, along with others at – or near – the event.

UConn says the review process is not based on the content of an event. It’s a purely administrative procedure that looks at logistics.

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A conservative commentator who was arrested at the University of Connecticut and charged with breach of peace following an altercation blamed some UConn students for being "violent and disruptive."

Lucian Wintrich's Tuesday night speech titled "It's OK To Be White" was repeatedly interrupted by people in the audience booing and chanting before coming to an abrupt end when a woman appeared to take paperwork off the lectern he was using and then began to leave.

University of Connecticut’s President Susan Herbst sent an email to the university community on Monday saying that the university will start new guidelines for having speakers on campus. In the future, the school will vet guests and the people accompanying them before they’re allowed to speak on campus.